Real (2013)

A man decides to use a new technology to go inside the mind of his comatose lover.

Director:

Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Writers:

Rokurô Inui (based on the novel by), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (screenplay)

Stars:

Takeru Satoh, Haruka Ayase, Joe Odagiri

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Takeru Satoh	...	Kôichi Fujita (as Takeru Satô)
Haruka Ayase	...	Atsumi
Joe Odagiri	...	Editor
Shôta Sometani	...	Atsumi's assistant
Keisuke Horibe
Yutaka Matsushige	...	Atsumi's Father
Kyôko Koizumi	...	Kôichi's Mother
Kenta Hamano
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Megumi Amane
Ayami Ishizawa
Miki Kamioka
Yui Kaneko
Yûki Kuda
Takahiro Mizuma
Ayumu Motoyama

Storyline

Koichi and Atsumi are childhood friends who eventually fall for each other and become lovers. Atsumo, however, commits suicide, but instead of dying becomes comatose. Thanks to a new procedure Koichi is able to enter Atsumi's subconscious mind in order to understand what prompted the suicide. Upon entry into his lover's subconscious mind he asks her to locate a drawing from her childhood, which is the key to the minds' melding and unravelling the mystery of her actions.

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Plot Keywords:

waking up from a coma | coma patient | pen | confronting the past | mysterious past | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 June 2013 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Real

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), Toho Company, Dentsu

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

A Real Disappointment

I'm a big, big fan of Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He is currently the only director to have earned three 10/10 ratings from me. I loved "Cure" (1997), "Pulse" (2001), and "Charisma" (1999). His recent transition away from horror has also been quite successful, with quality works such as "Tokyo Sonata" (2008) and "Penance" (2012).

The premise of "Real" (2013) is outstanding. New technology allows a man to venture into the mind of his comatose wife. This stuff is right in Kiyoshi's wheelhouse. This director has a knack for taking an overarching philosophical or psychological theme and exploring it in interesting ways. However, I had trepidations after viewing the trailer, which seemed a bit cheesy and hokey.

It turns out that I was right to be worried. This film is dramatically limp, with a very messy and unfocused script that makes it very difficult to have a vested interest in the characters. I literally could not have cared less about the ending to this film. The dialogue is seemingly worthless. At its best it acts merely as dull exposition and at its worst it's just boring. Performances are fine, but the star-studded cast is wasted on this uninspired screenplay. Kiyoshi does contribute some very nice framing of camera shots, which helps to alleviate some of the suffering. I hope he rebounds for his next feature.